Andorra claim SCA U20 Men’s title

The home team of Andorra was in great form in the gold medal match and well supported by the home crowd they triumphed, beating Luxembourg 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-13) to seize the SCA U20 Men’s title.

Luxembourg started the first set with a very consistent performance and strong attacks by their powerful outside hitters and it seemed that the day would be theirs while the home side looked feeling the pressure, eventually losing the first set 25-18.

The second set gave the tone to a fantastic show where the home team managed to win a fierce battle with great libero movements and excellent saves when it counted the most to have the upper hand (25-23). It was close but the set also revealed that the Andorra team was on the court to fight for every loose ball and the hosts punished Luxembourg with good counterattacks throughout the remainder of the match. This was perhaps the difference between the two teams, better defence formation and reception on Andorra’s side, including better setting tactics through the middle of the net.

The third set started with a good lead from Andorra (5-2) but Luxembourg managed to get over 6-5; again Andorra forced Luxembourg to a timeout when leading 10-7, but Andorra maintained their advantage until Luxembourg evened at 23-23, before Andorra took the two last points. This was very disappointing for the Luxembourg team which did not recover after losing two sets in a row with the minimum difference.

In the fourth set, there was one team dominating the scene, Andorra prevailed in every aspect of the match with strong attacks and great saves and a well-functioning libero that performed his job well. The result (25-13) seemed too big but the Luxembourg team gave in and was outperformed by the new crown holders from Andorra.

For Andorra, the outside hitter Nahuel Tagliaferro was the king of the court while for Luxembourg Christian Galloppo was the best performer.

Northern Ireland beat Ireland in derby to claim bronze

The much-anticipated derby offered a great clash between Ireland and Northern Ireland for the bronze medal. The Irish team, led by the outside hitter, Liam Corcoran claimed the first set 26-24. Together with libero Mark Christie, who made great saves at times, these two were the best performers in the early stages of the match. After the first set, the Northern Ireland team showed and completed a great comeback, winning the second set 25-23, the third set 25-21 and the fourth 25-20.

This derby revealed that the teams are very close – as the scores show – but the Northern Ireland team had to pull out everything in their arsenal to secure this win. Their strong outside hitters Jack McMurray and Luiz Van der Feltz were consistent in their play the whole match together with a strong block that outperformed the Irish squad in the end.

The words of the team captain Callum Grieve summed up the match well: “We had to put everything into this match, what we had left in us after the first set and play as hard as we could. We matched their efforts, and we played better than them and in the end we were the better team.”

Liechtenstein takes fifth place

Liechtenstein clinched the fifth spot in the SCA U20 Men’s Championship with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over the youthful Gibraltar squad (25-18, 25-5, 25-20). Despite their best efforts, the Gibraltar boys were outpaced, but they showed amazing resilience in the first and third sets. It must be noted that this was Gibraltar’s first international appearance for a men’s team, and in that respect, it is a win for Gibraltar to compete among their European colleagues – something that gives a new tone for their future development. Liechtenstein performed admirably overall, and the team has a good potential to represent the future men's national side on the international stage.

Final standing

1. Andorra
2. Luxembourg
3. Northern Ireland
4. Ireland
5. Liechtenstein
6. Gibraltar

Dream Team

Best Setter: Kilian Durante (Luxembourg)
Best Opposite Hitter: Xavier Mas (Andorra)
Best Outside Hitters: Christian Galloppo (Luxembourg) and Nahuel Tagliaferro (Andorra)
Best Middle blockers: David Zehren (Luxembourg) and Eric Forné (Andorra)
Best Libero: Davoren Ciagan (Ireland)